How do I pay my rent?

You can pay your rent directly from your Centrelink payment or with a Payway card. Depending on your contract, you may pay your rent either weekly or fortnightly. If you have any questions about your rent, we encourage you to contact 1800 MY EVOLVE (1800 693 865) or email myevolve@evolvehousing.com.au for support.

Your payment options

An easy way to pay your rent and other charges directly is through a Centrepay deduction. The Centrepay Multiple Deduction Format Payment (MDFP) option allows you to nominate rent, water and other payments to be paid from your Centrelink payment directly to Evolve Housing. You need to complete theMDFP resident consent form to set up direct payments. It is a simple, stress-free way to make sure you that you stay on top of your rent.

Direct Debit – ask your Housing Manager to help you to set up a direct debit from your bank account.

What is non-rent and how do it pay it?

Non-rent refers to any charges that are not rent such as water charges or other charges. Non-rent charges are identified separately on statements and will need to be paid separately to rent. Residents have 21 days after the date of the invoice to pay non-rent charges.

The Centrepay Multiple Deduction Format Payment (MDFP) option can be used for both rent and for non-rent payments. You can set this up either directly through Centrelink or through Evolve Housing.

This option allows you to nominate rent, water and other payments to be paid from your Centrelink payment directly to Evolve Housing, taking the stress out of remembering to pay your bills. To take advantage of this option, complete theMDFP resident consent form.

Make sure you include your account number with your payment so we can allocate it to your account.

How is rent calculated?

The amount of rent you pay depends on your individual and household circumstances. Usually your rent is 25% of your assessable income, plus one hundred percent of the Commonwealth Rent Assistance for which you are eligible. For more detailed information please read Evolve’s rent policy.

An example of how rent is calculated:

Household assessable income per week

$300.00

25% of the household assessable income per week

+

100% Commonwealth Rent Assistance per week

$75.00

$50.00

Total rent charge per week

$125.00

What is a rent review?

Evolve Housing conducts a rent review assessment twice a year for each household. Rent reviews are to see if there have been any changes to your household income or circumstances, such as children turning 18, new people living in the house, or people moving out since the last review. Changes may result in your rent going up or down.

You may be requested to provide information or documents during your rent review to make sure you don’t lose your rent subsidy. Losing your rent subsidy could mean that your rent increases to full market rent so we encourage you to provide information and documents as soon as possible when they are requested.

My circumstances have changed, what do I do?

Please notify Evolve Housing within 14 days when there are changes in your household circumstances that may affect your rent. These could include people moving in or out of your home, changes to your employment or income, or when children that live in your home turn 18.

Changes to your circumstances may mean that your rent could go up or down. When you notify us of a change we will let you know what you need to provide us so we can correctly calculate your rent.

Sustaining your tenancy

At Evolve we are committed to helping you sustain your tenancy. One of the most important things you can do is to keep a roof over your and your family’s heads and we will work with you to ensure that this happens.

We have found that when tenants fall behind in their rent by 14 days, it will usually takes between 6 to 8 weeks to get back on track. That’s 6 to 8 weeks of stress, juggling finances and struggling to get back on top.

If you are starting to fall behind or are not coping financially please contact the myevolve and we will work with you to ease some of the pressure. There are things your Housing Manager can do, such as working with you to set up payment plans to help manage your rent payments.

Hopefully this is one-off situation and we can work together to resolve the issue and develop a plan to ensure you are able to stay on top of your rent in the future. Call 1800 myevolve (1800 693 865) or contact usfor support.

If you find yourself struggling to make your rent paymentscontact the myevolve team on 1800 MYEVOLVE (1800 693 865) or email myevolve@evolvehousing.com.au for support. There are things your Housing Manager can do, such as working with you to set up payment plans to help you manage your rental payment or refer you to our Support Unit.

The Support Unit can take a complete look at your circumstances and help connect you with the services you need to get things back on track. It is much better to get in touch early, so we can work out the best solution together.

The best thing you can do is communicate regularly with your Housing Manager if you are struggling to make your rent payments. If you do this we can work with you to resolve issues before they become problems.

If you don’t pay your rent and you haven’t made arrangements with your Housing Manager, Evolve will contact you in writing. If you fail to make a payment (sometimes referred to as ‘rent arrears’), we will send you an SMS reminder. This reminder service is automated and we have found it helps residents stay on top of their rental payments.

We will use any of the following methods try to contact you if you are in rent arrears:

mail

email

phone

home visits

While we will make every attempt to notify you that your account is in rent arrears, it is still your responsibility to pay your rent in advance or to contact us. As with any rental agreement, Evolve may terminate your tenancy if you are frequently in arrears, or by large amounts.